Childhood
by Gerudo Desert
Summary: I will try to fix you. — Tetra and Link, after the end of Wind Waker.


**notes 1:** this can be interpreted as romantic or platonic, whatever you like.

 **notes 2:** Wisdom will be updated by the end of the day, I swear. I will finish this chapter if it kills me.

 **disclaimer:** I don't own Zelda.

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They found the King of Red Lions beached on the shore of the private oasis, not far to the south of where the Tower of the Gods had been. Tetra anchored the ship a safe distance away; Link clambered down the rope ladder by himself, swimming the rest of the way. He made his steps slow and deliberate when he reached the sand, though he wanted to run.

He'd seen the king's receding figure, seen the water close over his head, but part of Link still wished for the boat to look over at him and crack a wry joke. But it didn't move, and for a moment, neither did Link, standing there dripping saltwater and staring at the wooden carcass.

There were some scrapes on the sides, but the boat had drifted all this way with a remarkable lack of damage. Link found the sail folded neatly inside the small compartment in the hull, undamaged. He should have been thankful that the boat was still seaworthy at all.

 _Still,_ he thought as he ran his fingers over the chipped paint on one of the carving's eyes, _it feels empty._

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On the deck of the pirate ship, Aryll frowned as she peered through her spyglass, leaning on the railing. "What's he doing, Miss Tetra?" she asked, passing the spyglass over. "He's just standing there."

Tetra accepted it, but she didn't raise the lens to her eye. She didn't need to. "He's mourning, Aryll," she answered, her voice quieter than usual. "Just give him some time."

Aryll's frown deepened. Tetra wrapped an arm around the girl's skinny shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "You'll be home soon," she promised.

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He stood at the bow of the ship with Aryll, watching the silhouette of Outset Island slowly come into view on the horizon. His little sister was bouncing with excitement, and Link smiled at her. He'd been back to Outset several times throughout his quest to search for Nayru's Pearl and for the Triforce Chart and to check on his grandmother, but it had been much longer for Aryll. Despite everything else, he wanted to be happy to finally bring her home.

Link let Aryll jump down to the pier and run ahead when they finally reached the island as he helped the pirates tie down the sails and pull in the oars. He told himself he really did just want to help; that he wasn't just buying himself more time. Some of the pirates were giving him odd looks, Tetra especially.

Eventually he dropped down to the pier and made his way to the house where he had been raised, the path as familiar as his own name. Aryll was still wrapped in their grandmother's arms when he opened the door, both of them laughing. They greeted him with enthusiasm.

"Grandma, Link was amazing! He saved the world! And then he sailed all over the Great Sea, and he snuck through the fortress, and he beat the giant bird that kidnapped me!"

"Not exactly in that order," Link said with a smile that became more of a wince. He was thinking of the Helmaroc King's weak cries at the end of its life, and how its blood had run down the blade of the Master Sword to stain his palms. How it had really just been another slave to Ganondorf.

"Ah," his grandmother said—just one syllable that, coming from anyone else, meant nothing. From her, it could mean everything; the long look she directed towards Link confirmed it. "Aryll, why don't you go and greet our neighbors? They're going to be thrilled to see you!"

Aryll trotted out the door, her pigtails bobbing up and down with each step. His grandmother sighed affectionately, then lifted the kettle from the fire and poured them tea. She handed him a steaming mug and sat down at the table, patting the chair next to her; Link thanked her and slid into the familiar wicker seat.

"Tell me all about your travels, Link," she said, her voice kind.

"It wasn't as exciting as Aryll said." _It was terrifying. There were the thrilling parts, though. I sailed the Great Sea in a talking boat who turned out to be—_

"What islands did you visit, then?"

"Well," Link began. He pressed his palms against the mug's hot surface, looking down at his reflection in the tea instead of at his grandmother. "Well, I went to Dragon Roost Island—"

— _Gohma swung her claw towards him, lava bursting from the pit with her movements and hissing when made the ground. Link scrambled away just before her pincher slammed into the earth, missing him by a few scant feet. His breath was labored and panicked in the heavy, hot air; tears blurred his vision. Gohma screeched in rage as Link struggled to get to his feet, the burns on his skin searing in protest. Far above them, Valoo was screaming. Everywhere was heat and fear and pain, and Link couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, he couldn't think—_

He pressed his lips together and cleared his throat.

It was one thing to keep up the pretense around the pirates and Aryll. His grandmother with her wisdom and her knowing eyes was another matter entirely. Still, Link tried to go on. "The Sky Spirit…Valoo…he was in trouble. So I…"

"Dear?" his grandmother prompted. "Is something wrong?"

All at once, it was too much to bear. Tears stung his eyes; Link let out a shuddering gasp as they rolled down his cheeks. He brought his hands up to scrub at his face in embarrassment— _you're a hero, and heroes don't cry._ "I can't do this," he sobbed, "I'm sorry—I can't—"

"Oh, dear," his grandmother murmured as she stood from her chair and wrapped her arms around his small frame. Link leaned into her shoulder, crying like a baby, like a frightened little boy.

"You just cry all you need to, Link." Her hand came up to pull the hat from his head and stroke his hair. "My sweet boy. My sweet, brave boy."

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Link looked tired when he emerged from his grandmother's house well after sunset. _No wonder,_ Tetra mused, leaning against the smooth bark of a palm tree. Her crew was spending the night anchored at Outset, and they'd brought out the casks to celebrate the end of all their troubles.

Tetra had gone to find him, thinking he was going to miss all the fun—she was curious to see him drunk. No one had answered when she'd knocked on the door, so like the nosy idiot she was, she'd stepped inside the house anyway and been greeted by a sound so unexpected and jarring that it had stopped Tetra in her tracks.

Link had been crying.

"No one understands, Grandma," he'd gasped out between sobs—the painful, gut-wrenching sobs of someone truly lost. "The King knew, but he left me—he _died_ , and now I don't know what to do anymore and I'm scared. All the time, every day and every night, I'm always scared."

Tetra had backed out of the house with a hand clasped over her mouth as Link's grandmother made soft shushing sounds to him. She'd been waiting out here ever since—she couldn't go back to her ship and pretend that everything was fine.

If it had been anyone else, Tetra would have rolled her eyes and written them off as a weakling and a coward. But Link wasn't anyone else, because she'd seen him brandish the Master Sword and glare up defiantly at Ganondorf as the villain loomed over him; she'd seen him battered and broken on the tower as Hyrule drowned around them, still staying on his feet, still fighting. Because he was Link, she could not ignore this.

His boots scuffed quietly on the dirt path as he made his way towards her, giving her a halfhearted wave. Tetra nodded at him but stayed where she was, leaning against the smooth bark of a palm tree. It was hard to see with only the flickering torches for light, but she thought Link's eyes were bloodshot. She crossed her arms, her fingers curling up into fists.

"Hey, Tetra. Why are you out here all alone?"

"I was waiting for you." The words came out more sullenly than she'd intended, and she cursed herself internally. She was no good at this _comforting_ thing, but she needed to try.

"Oh," Link said. He was looking towards the ship, where the pirates were chanting, "Chug! Chug!" as Gonzo poured a pint of ale down his throat. Link made a face. "Um…sorry…I don't really feel like going over there yet. I'm just gonna take a walk."

"Okay," Tetra replied, and watched him go. _Do you really want to leave that boy on his own?_ asked a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like her mother. Rolling her eyes, she shoved away from the tree and went after Link.

"It's quiet on this island," she commented when she caught up to him.

"That's why I like it," he agreed. The fondness in his voice was real. His attempted smile was not.

 _And when that bird came screeching through here and stole your sister from you, when you left on my ship to save her, all that quiet got torn away and turned into hell._

Tetra took a breath. The words came out of her in a rush as she exhaled. "I went into your house to get you and—it was an accident, I swear, but I overheard you. With your grandmother. I heard you crying."

Link stopped walking. "Oh. _Oh._ " She wondered distantly if that was his favorite word. "Tetra, that wasn't what it…it was nothing, I promise, it won't be—"

"Link," she said sternly with all the authority she'd learned from being a young girl captaining a crew of male pirates. "It's not like it's a big shock. We all hear you thrashing around and muttering in your sleep almost every night. You still talk to that boat like it's going to talk back—" she pointed to the faded shell of the King of Red Lions, "—even though you know the King drowned with his Hyrule."

Link looked at her, his eyes hard and afraid. For a long moment, there was no sound between them but for the crashing of the waves against the shore.

"I'm sorry," Tetra said, feeling suddenly sick. "That was too harsh. What I meant was…you could have told me, kid. You still _can_ tell me, if you want."

"Don't be sorry," Link said finally. He started down the path again, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You're just trying to help. I'm…all messed up."

"Everyone's messed up," she pointed out in a weak attempt at humor, nudging his shoulder.

"The King always knew what to say," he said in frustration, kicking a rock out of his way. "And we could have saved him. He could have lived."

"I know," Tetra said quietly. "But he was old and he knew his time was up. I think…that he died happy. Do you remember the last thing he said to us?"

"'I have scattered the seeds of the future,'" Link remembered, and laughed softly. "I never understood half of what he was saying, up until the end."

"It's us, Link. You and me and the land that will become the next Hyrule, when we find it. And that means we both have to survive." They'd gotten halfway across the bridge that connected the two halves of Outset when she took his arm, making him halt. "So when you need to talk, talk. I don't want you going senile on me, okay?" She rapped her knuckles against his skull.

He gave her a shaky half-smile. Tetra considered it progress. "What about you?" he wondered. "You always seem so…tough. Like nothing can hurt you."

"Well, Ganondorf did," she said, her voice flat. "I was his captive for three days."

Link grimaced, and anger flashed across his features. "I'm sorry."

She let out a breath and listened to the ocean rolling around them like a living, breathing thing. "You came for me, though," she reminded him.

In the dark, her hand found his.

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End file.
